september blues and a prayer for rain

i heard that rain is coming next week.
i am doing a rain dance and bathing in pink sunset light and begging that pretty old sky .
YES, send us rain.
i found these pictures that darin took five months ago, mayday: our backyard was achingly green, there were flowers and bees and color. (if you click to enlarge, you can see the bee's eyes staring solemnly at the camera, or at least i like to think those are her eyes glowing)

there were ladybugs mating on vibrant leaves.

 remember i wrote about the greening life? now all is brittle around me. unfortunately we can't afford to keep our yard or garden green in this town, (see here if you want to know why, and actually mine is much worse than the person they interview) so everything is yellow, arid and dry. i know i've complained about this before, and it is not wise or sweet or happy to complain. this i know. and i know if i change my attitude that "dry" could be "golden" and i could be loving the fact that i still can't really wear sleeves of any kind. i really should be thankful that it is hot and sunny day after day (after day after day after day) unlike my poor friends in the city who are blanketed by cold fog all summer. 

i am a seasonal person; my moods and daily energies revolve around the season. and i like things to feel the way they ought to for that season. i like seasonal beers, farmhouse ales and hefeweizens in the spring and summer, IPAs and pumpkin ales in the fall, nutty brown brews in the winter. fall should be cool and rainy and i will shut up now because i think by tomorrow my whining will cease, so bear with me :)




this old cat (my mom named him cream puff ages ago when he first showed up, we call him C.P.) is showing his age in these long dry afternoons. despite eating wet food twice a day, he is all bones now. he stumbles a little bit when he first gets up. no one knows how old he is; he's been with darin and i for over ten years now. i think he is a hundred years old. he is a local character and a real lover and i worry for him these days.

usually i welcome and embrace autumn. but this year it goes deeper, i actually feel like the rain returning and the water coming back into our dry hills will refresh the very bloodstreams of my body.  all of me will thank it: my calloused feet (tho i will miss you barefeet) my withered skin, my parched lips, my dry bones.

meanwhile, thank you for not raining tomorrow...as darin and i have a wedding to film :)

wishing you all the cool, windy, drizzly, perfect cozy cuddly fall days that you deserve. or if you're in the southern hemisphere then HELLO SPRING!

Comments

our summer just started. this week has been crazy hot. but it rained once in the early morning as well last week...so...today was super hot and sunny and then a really ominous black cloud came and sat on us in the late afternoon and everything got very still like it was going to rain. so far nothing.
Teeny said…
Hey sweetness, I know you try not to be too sad here...but s'okay, none of us mind. And it is totally alright to be tired with what you have - even if that is delicious sunlight. I for one of course am tired of cold chilly mornings. Sometimes heat IS life taking...it dries up everything huh, and the earth begins to look thirsty. I get where you are coming from. I hope the rains come soon. All the best to CP too. Loves you girl.x
Elizabeth said…
Last night we saw our first stars in a while and a half moon. I felt as if it might frost but didn't today, I needed my coat though. You would love it here: )
We, though have had not much of a summer,hardly any sun... I would love it there; )
Your sunny days are almost up and those rains will revive and restore, and perhaps even CP can enjoy a little of that. She looks like such an old dear.
And you so such a dear with a heart of gold to match any bright sun.
Be well. wishing you golden leaves of Autumn raining down about you xx
Cel said…
I like rain, but only if I don't have to go out in it. Sadly, due to this silly society, I'm out there 5 days a week, rain, snow or shine. Bah. I think we Northerners should all just migrate/hibernate like every other sensible creature up this way tends to do. The birds are flying South and I want to go too!

I prefer Fall to be warm and dry personally. Not too dry mind you, but I'd like to be able to frolic in a pile of leaves without coming out soggy and sloppy and mud covered. Not to mention, up here, a wet Fall often means freezing rain or snrain (snow+rain, when it can't make up its mind) and being chilled to the bone unless you're indoors and wrapped up in a cocoon of blankets.

Bummer about your water bill, holy crow. I recently spent a few weeks with my shorts in a knot worrying over my hydro bill so I understand.

Aw, C.P. We've got the same initials! I had this strange moment yesterday while petting my boy Caramel. He's 7 years old now, bless his fuzzy butt, so he's still got years ahead of him. But I had this feeling like I needed to remember his purr and the feel of his fur on my palm as I pet him, because someday he would die and I would want to remember. He's just been a constant in my life since I was 16 and I can't particularly picture my life without him, even though eventually that's how it will be. I hope your C.P. stays healthy and happy, he's got the best family with which to age into kitty golden years that's for sure.
Unknown said…
I hope you will get a nice rain soon! Sorry about the way your hot autumn is making you feel. I know I wouldn't give up a proper fall for anything! Here's hoping yours will come. xoxo
Missa said…
I hope the rain is renewing your spirits Heather. The sun is peeking out here this morning but they say possible thunder showers later this afternoon. Fingers crossed!

After coming out of the last two weeks of birthday party after birthday party/Regatta/wedding mayhem, it's been really nice to take a few days to just be cozy at home and watch movies and clean and read my latest book club book (The Red Tent, which I'm loving btw). It really feels like fall now and it feels just right.

Gentle pets to Cream Puff, love that kitty, and rain soaked hugs to you m'dear :)
Milla said…
Cream Puff. Two words you can't read without smiling. Heather. honey you complain here so so rarely that it can be like a cold refreshing rain when you do, a change of pace for us readers. I hope your blues (or scorched oranges are gone soon) and I hope your water woes be solved somehow. I remember you talking about it and it sounds awful. I recommend rainwater barrels. You could have a gravity-fed summer time water system? Maybe... in the mean time, I send you all my rain clouds and storms and cozy nights by the fire. And of course, my love.
georgie said…
Heather, he looks just like our Borris that disappeared a little over 10 years ago. I'm wiping the sleep out of my eyes, Could it be him? I would love just to see if it is him. So would Cecelia, I'm sure. I have some old pics to compare. If it is, it would be a relief that he found a good home in you.

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